Disappear
by clandestine.masquerade
Summary: Peter is in danger of dissappearing from Olivia's life forever, and that cannot happen... not on her watch.
1. Prolouge: Swear

Prologue - Swear

Olivia Dunham finally let down her hair, and that scared her. It wasn't the actually pulling of the band that held her ponytail that frightened her, it was the fact that she was doing it to impress a man. And not just a man, but her coworker and friend. This was something that she hadn't done in a while, and with good reason. For one, the memories of John Scott hurt like a bitch. The second reason was that it was shallow to dress up for drinks - if Peter really was interested in her, it wasn't because of her red patent-leather heels and the way it too her hours to curl her hair in the morning. In any case, she was scared that she felt taking her hair down was necessary, as silly as it sounds. It just wasn't her.

As she walked out the door and whistled for a taxi across town to the Bishop's place, she felt like fidgeting like an idiot, another unusual occurance. She tended to be calm and collected no matter what faced her (snake heads, mutant viruses, cadavres included), and a freaking date with her, er, friend, shouldn't change that.

So by the time Olivia was stepping from the cab and sloshing through a puddle on her way across the street to his house, she was downright afraid. So afraid that she could have sworn she saw a Glimmering cat slink into an alley jsut down the street. In fact, it almost didn't come as a surprise when she rang the doorbell only to have it answered by her Glimmering date. However it did, and she stood there in shock as he mumbled a few words and walked up the stairs, passing his father and giving him a look as he went. Dr. Bishop scurried up to her, hissing that she never tell his son that he was from another universe.

As if she could ever keep that promise.

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Peter had been talking for a while now, and his date had yet to speak at all. She had been sitting across from him, tracing the lip of her beer with her finger, staring at him pointedly like she expected him to do something, like bark. It made him really uncomfortable, and quite honestly, pissed. The reason he asked on this date was because he genuinely liked her, not only as a constantly reliable butt-kicking FBI friend, but as a beautiful woman who he really had the urge to kiss cosntantly. So far, however, the date had not gone smoothly, and he was starting to think she was comatose when his temper finally snapped.

"What had been wrong with you? You haven't said anything at all since I picked you up, Olivia!"

She blinked at him, opening and closing her mouth like she wanted to say something but couldn't. Finally, she stood abruptly, and with a sad look over her shoulder, she walked out into the rainy Boston night.

After a moment of bitter shock, Peter managed to close his mouth and quickly slapped down a fifty on the table, sprinting for the door after her. He needed to know what was the matter. This was completely unlike Olivia, or at least the Olivia he knew. Skidding out onto the street, he looked around, finally spotting her hailing a taxi twenty yards away. He slipped across the wet pavement toward her, grabbing her waist as the cab pulled up and she reached for the handle. Without the words to ask what the hell was wrong with her, he placed a hand on her cheek, making her face him. With a deep breath and prayer that he wasn't screwing it up even more, he pressed a hot kiss against her mouth. Her lips were soft, but they didn't move as he held her against him.

The sound of the window rolling down on the taxi came, and the cabbie yelled out a quick offer, threatening to leave. Pushing away slowly, she opened the door to the cab, giving him an unfathomable look. Shaking his head, he turned to walk up the street back to the bar, hoping to maybe scrounge up the change he'd left behind.

As he walked, however, he heard the sound of a door slamming and quick footsteps. Soon, her cool hand was pulling him back arround and her smooth lips were once again on his, working heatedly against the cool night air.

"Peter, you have to trust me," she said as she pulled away, straightening her shirt in her business-like way. "I can't tell you everything, but you have to know that whatever happens, I swear I'll help you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just trust me."

"But -"

"Bishop, you and I both know that things happen to us that happens to nobody else. Dangerous things happen and situations occur. You need to understand that my job... even though there are boundaries we need to respect, I'll help you."

Peter, knowing all to well that she was never going to tell him anything more, simply nodded, his forhead scrunching softly. Agent Dunham, Olivia, was a mystery.

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So, I hope you like it! This is just the very beginning of the story, and I promise it will get better... and more original. I promise. I just needed a way to establish... The Promise. Yeah. With capital letters.

Right, so, I haven't written anything in a long time and I'd like to know what you think! Also, this is my first Fringe fic, so if I totally mess up something, I'd really love to know how I can fix it. Thanks!


	2. One: Case

I definitely do not own anything in this story except for the plot and a few characters from the upcoming chapters. Fringe belongs to FOX. Trust me. If it were mine... ooo. I like that idea. (And sorry for neglecting this in the previous chapter... my bad.)

Chapter One - Case

Harvard University

It was a struggle for the typically focused Agent Dunham to block out the fact that her, erm, friend - it was getting harder to say that with all the looks and innocent touches they now exchanged throughout their days - was glittering, threatening to vanish before her eyes at any second. It was made even more difficult due to Walter constantly buzzing around the lab, milking Gene, planning their wedding (that was a very long way away, and with Peter Glimmering in a corner it made it seem impossible anyway), and sending Olivia deadly looks whenever she went within twenty feet of his son. Peter had begun to notice how unusually lucid Walter had been, as well, which he seemed to accomplish through his focus on keeping Olivia away. In fact, Peter seemed downright proud with the progress of his father, almost glowing like a dad would at the first steps of his son. It was a strange thing to witness, but it made Olivia give a few more bittersweet smiles than usual.

For the first time in what must have been a while, Peter seemed genuinely happy to not only be around his father, but the lab itself. He had rearranged a cleaned most of the equipment, set up a nice desk for himself and organizing it nicely, and had even found the time to chat up Astrid on how crazy his father was - though it seemed more lighthearted and teasing than Olivia had ever heard.

With all the change going on around her, it was difficult to remember how everything had started. It started with her desperate attempt to save John, tricking Peter to leave Iraq to free his hatd father from a mental institution. He had upheld a sharp tongue and a sardonic attitude for a while after that, until... it started. They would talk in between cases, lounging around the lab. He would dazzle her with his astounding mind, make her laugh with all of his usual sarcasm, and he was able to make her sober instantly with merely a look. He had so much control over her. It only got better with the missions - he seemed so concerned, especially in Jacksonville and in the hospital when she had returned from the other universe - and soon it translated into... well, this. It was so different, so strange, but perfectly right. She only wished she could hold on to it forever, but that was out of the running as soon as she saw the Glimmer.

"Walter, don't eat that! It's been there forever -"

Olivia blinked, looking up to the corner where Dr. Bishop was hunched over a bag of cookies, munching on a corner of one slowly. Astrid was rushing up to him, taking it from him and slowly unhinging his fingers from around the offending cookie. He gave a pathetic wimper, like a puppy, before shuffling off across the lab to visit Gene. Peter chuckled off in another portion of the lab, placing a cardboard box of files on top of the ever-growing pile. She smiled at him, grinning wider when he caught her eye and smirked.

Her phone vibrated suddenly in her pocket, making her jump. She stood, hand on hip, taking to call from Broyles dutifully. "Olivia Dunham."

"Agent Dunham, we have a case. There's been a break in at Massive Dynamics."

"Massive Dynamics? Of course, we'll be there."

She slipped her phone in her pocket, grabbing her coat as the others assembled themselves for work.

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Massive Dynamics - New York City

When they arrived at the New York location of Massive Dynamics, their eyes immediately set on the largest detail they had yet to come across. It took a while to locate Broyles, but when Olivia finally jogged up to him, he seemed grave. Without hesitation of any sign he was going to speak at all, he turned to her. "A file was stolen from the Massive Dynamics Top Secret Storage Facility, located in the basement of this building," he nudged his head toward it, where police seemed to be sweeping for any and all evidence. "Usually, this wouldn't necessarily involve the FBI, but as you know... they have valuable, inexchangeable information hidden in the vaults in that facility. The file taken was from the highest security vault. A vault that in impossible to break in to, without the code. Yet... here we are. Someone who had the code, and there are only two, Bell and Sharp, managed to get in... and leave, without any forensic evidence left behind what-so-ever. The only person to see anything out of the ordinary is the secretary stationed at the desk closest to the door when you step into the lobby." Broyles sighed, shifting his eyes over to where a couple of officers were attempting to calm a young girl down enough to interview.

Olivia, with Peter and Walter close behind, stepped up to the girl, nodding at the officers to leave. Softly, Olivia kneelt in front of her. "What's your name?"

The young woman shook her long brown curls, her hands clapped over her mouth. She was wide-eyed and scared, her damp, red face mostly hidden. A muffled answer came, "Kim."

"Alright, Kim, why are you so upset? What happened?"

The girl gave a little sob, sniffling loudly. Walter, looking rather upset, pulled a handkercheif from his pocket and handed it to the girl, giving a small friendly smile. After blowing her nose, she managed to stutter out her story.

"I usually work just in the afternoons, but t-today Maria was sick and asked me to take her morning s-s-shift. I came in early, and it all seemed nor-m-mal, until three men came from the basement-t stairs. You're supposed to check in at my desk, so I was s-surprised-d-d when they came to check i-in after they came from the b-b-basement. Only, I never got their names... I was-s-s... I screamed when they came closer."

"Why did you scream, Kim? What was wrong?"

She started crying anew, shaking her head and mopping her tears with Walter's handkerchief. After a few minutes, she started her description. "Th-th... yellow eyes. So, so pale... they did-idn't have ears... and they... I don't know, they didn't look human..."

Nodding, Olivia stood, thanking the girl for her time. They had a pretty solid description - three men with yellow eyes, pale skin, and no ears. It certainly crossed out any criminals Olivia had ever heard of. It disturbed Olivia, stories of strange men, possibly from the other side, and she firmly set her lips in a thin line as she approached Nina Sharp, who had her eyes narrowed in rage as she spoke with Broyles.

This was going to be a long day.

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Hotel - New York City

It had been a long day, but in the end they had not been able to lift any evidence from the scene. All they had were a couple of security cameras with images of three tall white men in dark trench coats, who Kim had identified as the men she described. Between that description and the tapes, all they had was a rather vague description and evidence they were there to begin with. All in all, it was not going well, but Broyles had demanded Olivia go and get her rest.

She was now sitting cross-legged on the second bed in the Bishop's hotel room, picking at noodles with her chopsticks from a take-out box. Walter was snoring across the room and Peter was beside her, prodding a dumpling as he watched the television intently. It was a crime scene investigation show, one of their favorites. As if they didn't get enough of that already. In fact, it was probably an unhealthy habit, but they had just sat down to watch these things so they had no intention to stop.

"Eh, Liv, pass the soy sauce."

"Um-hmm." Without taking her eyes from the screen, she reached for a packet and tossed it at him. He caught it deftly and tore it open. Olivia turned, blinking at him as he dipped a dumpling in the dark liquid.

"What?"

She shrugged. "I was just thinking of the case..."

In fact, it was all she could think about. This was typical for her, but this time around it was much worse. She had an eerie feeling the visitors at Massive Dynamics weren't from this universe - it would certainly explain their strange appearance and their strange ability to open the vault with no effort. It worried her that they could possibly be looking for Peter.

Another strange hint at their possible intentions was the file taken from the vault. Nina, after much prodding, admitted to the overall contents to Olivia. It was all of the information collected on the Pattern. Olivia had known for a while the Pattern was strongly connected to the strange events happening between the alternate universe and her own. The experiments that had been conducted to cause the Pattern were, as she theorized, worked on scientists from the other side. It was a frightening thing to think they would have all the information on that, including all the work by the FBI and all of Olivia, Peter, and Walter's information, including addresses, social security numbers... everything. With that sort of information, Olivia was concerned more than ever for Peter. If they wanted to take him, they were in the position to do so.

The sound of Peter turning the tv off told her that she had probably been thinking for far too long again. With a few blinks and a glance at Peter, she could tell that he knew something was wrong again. He had the familiar furrough in his brow that told her that he was concerned. With a smile smile and a shake of the head, he set her cold box of noodles on the night table. It was late anyway, nearly two o'clock in the morning, and she had to work early in the morning. Standing, she made her way to the door, slipping on her shoes and clicking open the door to the brightly lit hallway. She allowed the door to close behind her, before stepping across the hall to her own room and unlocking the door with her card.

Before the door even had time to swing closed behind her, Peter's hand caught it. She turned to him, tilting her head.

"Something's wrong Liv, it has been since... since after we solved that case. What's up? You have to tell me... I know that Walter has something to do with it." He'd always been to smart for her. With an IQ of 190, it was hard to hide anything from Peter Bishop.

Swallowing, Olivia shook her head, simply heading over to her small suitcase and pulling pajamas from it. Peter refused to leave and stepped into the room, flicking on the light.

"Not now Peter... I don't want to wake anyone up." A few other FBI agents were staying in the rooms nearby, and she didn't want to run to risk of advertising anything of that magnitude. "This is simply not the right time for this."

He swiftly stepped forward, hands on her arms. "Olivia, you don't have to hide anything from me. If Walter said anything about John or..."

"It had nothing to do wit John! I asked you to trust me."

"I do, sweetheart -"

"And I told you to never call me that."

He sighed, placing his head in his hands. "Look, I'm sorry, I just want you to be happy."

"It would make me happy if you wouldn't delve into this."

He looked pained as the harsh lighting illuminated his features. He turned on his heels and walked out the door.

Olivia let a tear slide down her cheek as she unbottoned her shirt to change for the night. She wished he wasn't so damn smart, but it couldn't be helped. She doubted he would be nearly as amazing if he was anything less than he was. But it was still hard for her to keep such a huge secret from him when it could mean his life.

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Eh, I wish it were longer but I like the way it ended. Next up, a breakthrough in the case and another complication! Ooo, can't wait. :)

And aren't you proud I updated this in a day? That's remarkable for me... but then again I've been snowed into my house for nearly a week. Over two feet of snow, and we just got over another foot last night! Yay. I can't wait to shovel THAT.

Oh, and thank you to those who reviewed! I'm glad you liked it... before I read those, I was still wavering if I was to continue it or not. However, after rewatching the first episode (Peter... ahhh... I have a soft spot for cute criminals) I was totally convinced as to my plot and combined with feedback, I'm going to continue. Yay.

So... there you go! Sorry for the long note... eh. And forgetting the disclaimer to the last chapter!


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